A scenic and difficult 5.6 mile course in the Mad River Valley of Vermont was conquered by Symmetric's Andrew Randell and Webcor's Katheryn Curi-Mattis in Friday's prologue opener of the 2008 Mad River Valley Green Mountain Stage Race.

Early on in the men's race Francois Parisien (Team RACE Pro) put up a blazing fast time of 13:38 that withstood many challenges from some of the top racers in the region. But Randell came in huge at the end of the race with a 13:36 that withstood challenges from local favorite Josh Dillon (Fiordifrutta) and last year's podium donner Mathieu Toulouse, who had the advantage of doing last wearing the #1 bib. Randell noted later on that the course was favorable for him and it showed in his top performance. Belgian Steven Van Vooren rounded out the top 3 only 5 seconds slower than Randell.

Earlier in the women's race it was all Webcor, with Curi-Mattis and teammate Janel Holcomb taking the top 2 spots. Curi-Mattis came to Vermont with goals of regaining her form that landed a win in the opening round of the World Cup, but noted it was difficult not to take in the scenery of the rural course through the backroads of Waitsfield and Warren. As with Randell, the course suited her well and she took full advantage of the non-aero equipment rule the promoters put in (similar to the team time trial at Tour de Georgia this year). Former runner-up Jennifer Stepehenson (Ultralink) rounded out the top 3 for the women.

Tomorrow riders will lineup in Hinesburg to tackle the brand new 30 mile circuit on the western flank of the Green Mountains. The course has been designed to be very similar to the one used last year in Moretown, so a bunch sprint is expected in both fields. Racing starts at 8:30am and rain in expected in the morning.